City of Splendors: Waterdeep

In the aftermath of the Count Scion’s death, the Companions joined the efforts of Thoros Droverson and Alban Sapphireedge to remove others threats to Waterdeep, bringing down the Devil Shaddon and the Estelmer family. They also participated in the attack of Castle Waterdeep, breaking the siege and interrogating Ricamros Gundwynd, captured by Arkin Tossum and his gang.

Through mental probing, Petyr discovered the reasons behind Gundwynd’s actions and realized how crazy and dedicated the man was. It actually took three days to bring peace to the streets and multiple operations to track down the remaining culprits were done by the Church of Siamorphe, the Guard and the paladins of Tyr and Amaunator.

Two weeks after the fall of the Divine Right Heresy, Danilo Thann was announced as Waterdeep’s new Open Lord. As one of his first decisions, the new Council of Lords, through Lord Thann, informed Mersenne that his appointment as Ambassador to Tethyr had been accepted and that the old Gundwynd Villa, seized by the government, was being offered to Tethyr as an embassy.

Meanwhile, a conclave held in the presence of three foreign high priests communing with the goddess, announced the demotion of High Moonmother Suaril and her exile from Waterdeep. Her replacement, Vivian Stardust was named the night after and the new high priestess offered the prior position to Rhivaun Silvermantle, to rebuild the bridge between the lycanthropes of the Church and the priests.

More secretly, Petyr was invited by Kyriani Agrivar to the Blackstaff Tower and once, inside, the tiefling wizard received visions from the real Blackstaff, offering him the position of Archmage to the city. He received all the old Chosen’s knowledge through magical books and was tasked to rebuild the Moonstars and prepare the city against future threats.

Petyr’s friend Arya met in secret with Elaith Craulnober who informed her that he was leaving with his daughter to Evereska to raise her in an elven environment. He offered her his position as elven crimelord in Waterdeep as well as his position of the elven representative on the Council of Lords. Knowing she would become her brothers’ boss, Arya gladly accepted, understanding that her position was not only profitable but also very important to control the waterdhavian underworld from more ruthless criminals.

The Companions finally stumble upon Darkwhispers and his co-conspirator, working on a powerful ritual that will sacrifice the lives of many of Waterdeep’s petty criminals. After a tough fight against the Lord Constable and the Secretary of the Arcane, they return to the City of Splendors to end the Church of Divine Right’s threat once and for all.

After their escape from Waterdeep, the Companions start to track Darkwhispers, the Banite crusader allied with the conspirators. With the help of a group of rangers from the Ardeep Forest, they reach the Nandar Lodge and enter the dreaded Dungeon of Whispers, a placed filled with fearsome monsters….

The Companions finally raid the heresy’s cathedral and fight a reanimated avatar of the dead God Iyachtu Xvim. They are also confronted to the power of the High Lord Scion who charms everyone save Rhivaun. The conflict almost makes their friendship end but when allies ensure their return to sanity, they decide to move out of town to capture Darkwhispers, supposedly working in the shadows in a country house.

Right before leaving town, they are ambushed by two of Waterdeep’s iconic defenders: Walking Statues!

Upon learning the identity of one of the leaders of the heresy plotting against Waterdeep, the Companions of Stardust Hall teleport back to the City of Splendors to discover that is has fallen under martial law and that a new Open Lord, Ricamros Gundwynd, has been selected.

The result is that their city of birth has been transformed into an oppressive bastion of the law. They penetrate the premises of Gounar’s Tavern, the front for the Palade of the Divine Queen. There, they will discover more information about the sect of heretic followers of Siamorphe and will fight lawful inclined monsters.

Upon their arrival in Darromar, capital of Tethyr, the companions meet with Tethyr’s royalty, Mersenne is aknowledged as a member of the royal family and multiple assassination attempts are made against the heroes. They will however, identify their main enemies and their goals.

Following the death of a mentor and the confirmation that the noble’s plot to take over Waterdeep has already reached the Lord’s Council, the Heroes of Stardust Hall move against the Church of Bane in Skullport

After their convincing victory over the Scarred Beasts, the heroes of Stardust Hall are given medals and introduced to the city’s elite. While preparing for a ball, they investigate the details about Mersenne’s mother death which seems to be linked to the recent events in the city

Discovering new details about the ennemy

Upon their return to Waterdeep, the investigators quickly move to the shop that was seen by Petyr in his divination and identify it as the property of Galvin Barnabas, a very popular tailor among the nobility and an expert in costumes and masks. This man is as close a commoner can be from nobility and is actually married to a minor noble.

Finding the store closed for the night, they start by inspecting the neighborhood for clues and notice nothing wrong. As they argue about the next step in their investigation, Arya unlocks the door and moves inside cautiously but starts an alarm that quickly brings watchmen and later Red Rubies, confirming Barnabas' importance and wealth. Taking their leave, the group returns to the orphanage, promising to return the next morning to speak with the employees and learn more about the red haired man that Petyr saw in his divination.

Upon their arrival at the shop disguised as rich adventurers who are about to attend to a ball, they are able to speak with their main witness, Markus Briskol, the man in Petyr's scrying. Barnabas' assistant quickly realize that the adventurers are not who they seem and reacts by asking them to leave but is stopped by Mersenne's magical music that forced him to cooperate. He admits having witnessed the death of Doctor Jevasic and describes the murderer as a "hulking man in a dark full plate". He also says that the mysterious man is an associate of his master and he sometimes uses the shop at night. By asking questions about his role in the murder of the doctor, they quickly realize that Briskol is a cold and ruthless man obcessed with money and power and that when he would get his senses back, he would seek vengeance against them. At Rhivaun's suggestion, they teleported the still charmed Briskol to a small village near Waterdeep and returned, moving to Barnabas' residence to learn more about him as he seems to be the key to this mystery.

While his partners were gathering some information about the villa and its occupants, Petyr went to the gate to meet with the guards, members of the Red Rubies led by an old rival of his, Sapphiredge. The tiefling learned a bit more about the mansion's owner and his reputation but unfortunately, he returned without much information about the mysterious killer in the dark armor. Planning to infiltrate the house the next day, the investigators returned to Stardust Hall while Petyr and Mersenne started to search about the mysterious elvish poem "Voices of the Lost" at the Olamh. Following a lead given by Vunik, the strange seer at Wyttman Institute, Petyr also did a scrying on Felnarra, hoping to locate her. The divination was successful and he found her in company of a tall man in dark armor and a woman with fiendish features, the same woman they had fought at the Thirsty Throat tavern before the Night of Chaos. Using deduction and all the information gathered, the group had enough reason to believe that the tailor Barnabas was working with Lord Urmbrusk to use Felnarra and her oracular abilities to locate the magical poem for some nefarious plan. They would have to strike quickly to ensure Orkalion's safety.

Oddly enough, Barnabas moved first. He sent an invitation to the group, offering them the chance to discuss with him in person at his mansion. All felt it was a trap but they had no other choice but to accept.

The next evening, the group met with the tailor Barnabas in his residence and strangely enough, the old man seemed as surprised by their visit and they were by his invitation. After a long discussion, the group convinced Barnabas that they were not threatening his reputation and that, on the contrary, his association with criminals could only result in a loss of customers and in the end of his role as the man behind fashion in Waterdeep.At the end of the meeting, Barnabas secretly gave a bit of paper to Petyr, asking them to join him later that night in the Garden of Heroes. Clearly, the man knew some important information that he was afraid of giving in the presence of his retinue.

Afraid a quick return to the orphanage for a meal and some preparation, the group took a cab that brought them to the entrance of the large public park, completely empty at that late hour. Waiting next to the future statue to Piergeiron the Paladinson, former Open Lord, the group finally met with Barnabas who revealed that he was indeed an associate of the mysterious man in the black full plate but that their was association was done unwillingly.

At first, Barnabas had been hired by a group of nobles to design a set of masks for some type of secret society and the man sent by the nobles to collect the masks. The impressive warrior then told Barnabas that he would sometimes need his tailor shop at night for some of his operations and clearly gave him no choice but to accept. Barnabas also told them that it was because of afraid of the "man in black" that he hired the Red Rubies. Before he had the chance to continue the discussion, a group of creatures charged the, forcing Barnabas to flee while the group protected his retreat.

The creatures, four unidentifable drakes and four small trolls were perfectly organized and, as the trolls were attacking directly the investigators, most of the drakes were trying to flank them while another was tracking the poor tailor. After a long game of cat and mouse, the heroes finally brought down the trolls and two of the drakes but the two remaining were getting closer and closer to their prey. Unfortunately, only Ayanna was close enough to protect Barnabas and she was engaged with one of the remaining monsters when the other one took a large bite off the tailor's side, killing him almost instantly.

Then the creature did the most horrible thing: he started to eat its victim! As it had swallowed the head, the drake started to draw Barnabas' soul out of his body, swallowing it as easlily as it had done for the body. Ayanna finally managed to kill the last beast, horrified by what it had done. In the minutes following the end of the battle, the watch arrived, alerted by the screams of the victim.

Rapidly, the situation evolved negatively as Rhivaun commented on the time the officers took to come to the rescue, calling them incompetents. Petyr, trying to protect his friend, used sarcasm on one of the officers who decided to arrest them, accusing them of insulting the watch and obstructing the law. Mersenne, who was outraged at the tyrannical attitude of the officer, tried to convince him to change his mind, only bringing down the wrath of the watchman against him as well.

While Rhivaun and Petyr were brought to the judge, Mersenne fled the scene, watchmen running after him. The rest of the group returned quickly to Stardust Hall, alerting their superiors about Rhivaun and Petyr's arrestations.

The night ended with Rhivaun and Petyr being sentenced for 3 days of jail and fined while Mersenne called for diplomatic immunity, revealing himself as a member of the tethyrian nobility to escape the judge.

Investigating the disappearance of an old antagonist

One month had passed since the group's last investigation and few events, with the exception of the Open Lord's funeral and the return of the Priestess of the High Moonlight Suaril at the House of the Moon, went in the way of disturbing the daily routine of the orphans that were slowly becoming South ward's heroes.

Recently returned from the evereskan front, Lady Suaril rapidly called all her priests to the temple to annouce her choice as the new prior. With the dismissal of High Initiate Orkalion for medical reasons, the high priestess had to select a new second in command. In front of many followers and all the selunite clergy of Waterdeep, she officially named Moonmother Stardust to the office, promoting her to the rank of High Initiate. Immediately, the new prior announced her resignation as Stardust Hall's principal and the promotion of Moonsister Anika Dahlgren as vice-principal under Revered Mother Al-Fulani of Ilmater. On the same night, holy to the Silver Lady, the clerics organized the Conjuring of the Second Moon, an important ritual that would summon two of the goddess' most powerful servants to serve the temple for one night.

After a beautiful and serene ceremony, two Shards appeared and performed the services that were asked of them before returning to the Gates of the Moon, bringing an old cleric with them to join their ranks.

The next day, the new prior called the Companions to her office at Stardust Hall, informing them that her predecessor, Felnarra Orkalion, had disappeared from the Wyttman Institute for the Mind, an hospital specialized in mental disorders and traumas, where she was treated for her mental breakdown after Morigard's death. Rhivaun and his friends were tasked of investigating her disappearance since the details concerning it were strange. The Church, a sponsor to the Institute, had been informed through magical communication, that the former prior had received the visit of a priestess who performed the Conjuring of the Second Moonand then left, along with Felnarra, in company of two Shards. Doubting these informations, especially since the said priestess was at the House of the Moon that night, Vivian wanted them to discover the truth and bring Felnarra back to the temple.

Leaving the next day and heading south, the companions quickly realized,at the sight of many caravans transportig wounded or dead people, that the roads surrounding the City of Splendors were not as secure as they were in the past. These sightings confirmed the informations concerning the increase of bandit and monstrous raids in the region. Fortunately for them (or for the bandits), nothing happened and they rapidly reached the river Ardeep close to which was the Wyttman Institute. Leaving the High Road to travel on a trail leading to the asylum, the coach transporting the agents of Selûne's church was forced to slow down when it entered a flooded zone. An hour later, they came under attack by two aquatic monsters who saw the flooding of the road as a good opportunity to extend their hunting territory and who had selected their coachman as their prey. Unable to save the poor man who sank into the muddy water, the group easily defeated one of the tentacled monsters using Rhivaun and Petyr's magic. After a little hide and seek game in the marsh, they hunted down the second one before resuming their trip towards the asylum.

When they finally arrived at the Institute, they were politely but coldly welcomed by Strogg the dwarf, head of security for the Institute, and Doctor Heraldus, the administrator. After hearing a detailed resume of the events leading to the disappearance of High Initiate Orkalion, the investigators were given full access to the cells. While Arya was inspection Orkalion's cell with Rhivaun, the others started to ask questions to the patients, receiving insults and body fluids as answers. Fortunately enough, one patient, a man named Carl Czmaska, told them he saw a "woman with many shadows" walking to Felnarra's room. Questionning Strogg about Czmaska, the dwarf answered that the man wa addicted to Greenwort, a drug believed by many wizards to enhance the oracular abilities. Petyr was convinced that the man had seen invisible creatures accompanying the false selûnite visiting the High Initiate.

With the conviction that nothing in Felnarra's disparition was linked to the will of the Moonmaiden, the group left the cells and started to interrogate the employees. While talking to the nurses, Ayanna and Rhivaun noticed that one of them, Gyl, was actually hiding something. Isolating her from the rest of her colleagues, the woman admitted that out of curiosity and religious fervor, she had spied on the visiting selûnite, hoping to see the Shards. Questionned by Rhivaun about what she saw, she stated that the ritual that summoned the two servants of the Lady was very different from the one she had seen at the House of the Moon a few years earlier, confirming that it was an hoax. Ashamed of herself and afraid that she would be fired for her indiscretion, Gyl pleaded for the group's silence, telling them about Doctor Heraldus' strict order to hide the truth to the investigators sent by the Church.

Tired from their walk in the marsh and their fight with the monsters, the companions asked for a place to sleep and were offered the office of Doctor Jevasic, a specialist in phobias who was acting as the Institute chief medical officer. Unfortunately, their sleep was greatly disturbed by horrible nightmares that, to Petyr's estimation, might have been sent magically. While Rhivaun, Arya and Petyr continued their investigation by questionning the doctors, Ayanna and Mersenne walked out to the guards' barracks, hoping to interrogate the dwarf Strogg who was on duty on the night of Orkalion's disappearance.

The dwarf refused to cooperate, locking himself in his room and threatening the catfolk and the bard with an axe if they ever forced their way inside his quarters. Strogg seemed afraid of something and accused them of endangering his job at the asylum. The disappearance of one of the patients made him and his guards look bad and this could mean the end of a well paid job for the greedy dwarf. It is only through guile and the use of Mersenne's bardic music that they forced the mercenary to cooperate, admitting that he was not clearly remembering the patient's departure in company of two selûnite angels. He also had no souvenir of how the priestess left the building. Foul play was confirmed.

Inside the Institute, a discussion with Doctor Jevasic shed some light on Felnarra's mental state and, while he could not say anythin more about the mysterious events, Jevasic confirmed that he had spoken to the priestess before her entrance in the cellblock, explaining that as a selûnite who had been away from the House of the Moon for long, he wanted the blessings of the goddess. To him, everything was normal with the priestess even though he felt she was stressed. Questionned about the Shards' departure from the asylum by Mersenne and Ayanna who had returned inside after their discussion with Strogg, Jevasic admitted that he did not remember actually seeing the angels leave but that he saw a group of people leaving towards the cliff. He had assumed it was the priestess and that a boat was waiting for her. He also admitted he had withheld this information because Doctor Heraldus had ordered him to.

When confronted by the companions about these new details, Heraldus admitted he had ordered his staff not to cooperate with the investigators, fearing for the Institute's reputation. He summoned Strogg to his office with the intention of ordering him to restart the investigation and offer his cooperation to the agents sent by the church but the dwarf did not answer. Sending guards to the barracks, Heraldus also told them about the only witness that they had not questionned: a old man named Vunik who claimed to have been possessed by the god Oghma in the past. His cell was next to Felnarra's and, after an intense fit of rage, was sent to the isolation block on the second floor.

Authorized to visit Vunik, the companions discovered a very old with many unexplainable knowledges. When asked about Felnarra, the man started repeating the same cryptic words, ignoring all their other questions. With some deduction and analysis, Petyr suggested that the kidnapping might have been done by agents of Lord Urmbrusk using manipulated angels. He also supposed that someone in the staff was helping the kidnappers. When Doctor Heraldus came back into the cell, announcing that Strogg's body had been found in the marsh, the investigators' instinct told them to question Doctor Jevasic again. As a specialist in phobias, he could have been responsible for the nightmares they had experienced while sleeping in his office and he had the reputation to be tyrannical with the staff and the patients.

Confronted by Rhivaun and his friends, Jevasic admitted his participation in the kidnapping but, before he explained his exact part in it, he teleported. Using magic, Petyr tracked down the evil doctor to Waterdeep, watching him enter a tailor shop. Inside the shop, Jevasic talked to a redhaired man, clearly afraid. The tailor invited him to the back of the shop but before he entered the room, Jevasic was attacked by a tall man wearing a black armor and wielding a maul. The doctor was instantly killed, ending Petyr's divination.

Accepting the apologies of Heraldus, the party left Wyttman Institute, hoping to catch Jevasic's assassin and force him to reveal where was Felnarra.

Hunting down a necromancer disturbing the peace

A little less than a month after Morigard's death, the Companions of Stardust Hall were called back into action when a citizen asked for their help in getting rid of an undead menace around his house. The man, Valorin, explained that his brother, who had died during the Night of Chaos, had returned and tried to killed him and his wife. Valorin described his dead brother as a monstrosity covered in sores and pus who had two tentacles sprouting out of his hips. Strangely, this description seemed to fit a Bonedrinker, a rare type of undead usually created by goblin shamans.

Walking in the dark and hazy streets, the group fell in an ambush prepared by the bonedrinker and his ghast minions. Prepared for a fight against the undead this time, the heroes succeeded in destroying all the living dead, realizing that all these undead sightings could be linked. Ayanna and Rhivaun remembered that the Watch was actively seeking a necromancer and a tomb-robber they had nicknamed The Coachman for the only clue he had left on every site he visited was the tracks of a coach. None of these tracks had ever been helpful in identifying the vile wizard and his crime spree had stopped suddenly a few month after it had begun.

Visiting the City of the Dead and the small chapel of Kelemvor, the investigators discovered that many unidentified corpses from the victims of the Night of Chaos had never been claimed and were placed in a single tomb by Kelemvor's clergy. All the cadavers had been picked up by the Watch and by the Dungsweepers' Guild. Questionned about the possibilities of grave-robbing, the cleric of Kelemvor admitted that some bodies might have never reached the cemetary. This meant that the culprit might be a member of the guild, leading the party its office in Dock ward.

When they arrived at the place, the office looked empty. Most of the guild's agents were on the streets cleaning and gathering the garbage. Too curious to wait until the office hours, Petyr decided to enter the building using his teleportation magic. Inside they found documents concerning the cleaning operation organized by the guildmaster Helberad and led on the field by one of its important agents: Nuchar, the guildmaster's son. Leaving the office, they started to ask questions in South ward about the operation and learned that some of the carts transporting the corpses had been seen stopping at the Carver mansion before entering the cemetary. This house, property of Ephraim Carver, a renowned sculptor and palbearer, was where the monument dedicated to the people who had died in the events of the 28th day of Tarsakh was supposed to be sculpted. Pretty sure that the answer to this mystery was in this house, the investigators sent their two more stealthy members: Aria and Ayanna to investigate. While the two girls were entering the building through a window on the second floor, the three guys walked to the front, passing for customers interested in purchasin a tombstone.

Inside the two stealthy ladies discovered a serie of strange rooms that were almost inaccessible and that had not been used in a long time. Some of them had old relics from the Carver family, a clan of artisans renowned for their fascination with death. Already suspicious, Ayanna and Aria confirmed their doubts when they discovered an alcove in the library inside of which they found a tome of necromancy written by a follower of an old god of death, Myrkul. Finally, in another room, they found the mummified remains of an unidentified man. Convinced that something weird was happening in this house, they left the building, waiting for the return of the three men to report what they had seen.

Returning inside and forcing their way inside by intimidating and bluffing the staff, the companions discovered an elevator in a small room close to the kitchen. Going down, they fell into a trap and the machine started to gas them. To save themselves, they jumped or teleported out the elevator only to be attacked by a creature built using the parts of many species of devils and identified as a stitched devil by Petyr. Defeating the devilish golem and, later, a fearsome undead known as a Blaspheme, the group finally reached the Coachman who appeared to be a gaunt creature wheeping blood from his hands and displayed some mental powers. He was protected by Valmer, the Carver majordomo who was in reality a monk from the Order of the Long Death.

Destroying the undead Coachman and his bodyguard, South ward's heroes discovered a man hidden underneaht a pile of corpses in another room and, searching the subterrenean complex, discovered a cache of magical objects and an old set of items strangely looking like the ones that would fit on an Hidden Lord. The also found informations about deals made by the necromancer and the Shadow Thieves but also possibly involving important citizens or noble houses.

On the same day, as they were walking back towards the orphanage, they heard the sounds of many bells in the city. Changing their route to get to Castle Waterdeep before the announcement, the group arrived just in time to hear the Castle's chamberlain announcing the Open Lord's death. As his little speach ended, a hidden lord moved forward and removed his helmet, revealing himself as Caladorn the swordsage. This man would become the next Open Lord. Would this bring back order in the City of Splendors?

Tracking a new threat while mourning a friend

As the cleaning of the orphanage began, less than an hour after the discovery of Morigard's body, Thoros and his two associates returned, the two kidnapped victims in tow. The wizard, badly injured, informed his pupil and his friends that Lord Urmbrusk would not become a lich and that his plans had been foiled thanks to the participation of his two allies, revealed to be the former Zhentarim leader Semmemon and his wife Ashemmi. Saddened by the news of his friend's death, Thoros left Stardust Hall and returned to his home, leaving the job of bringing home the two victims to the Watch.

Leaving the clean up to Ashraf and his mercenaries, the group moved their prisonner away from the crowd and interrogated him, using Mersenne and Petyr's magic to break him. The shade admitted his appartenance to the Shadow Thieves and revealed that the Scarred Beasts were actually a sub-group for the criminal organization, focused on removing the guild's business rivals and spreading chaos in the streets. Leaving him bound and gagged in the orphanage's basement for the night, they then moved to Thoros's tower to interrogate their other prisonner, Magnus Svarlsson.

The werecougar, knowing too well that the Grey Beast would eat him alive for his last failure at the Thirsty Throat, accepted to give information on his gang in exchange for the group's promise that they would ask for clemency at his trial. Svarlsson told them about the gang's leaders, habits and their links with some unidentified noble houses. Clearly, the Scarred Beasts were pawns in the game of some of the city's powerfuls.

The next morning, the companions were awakened by Prunis who informed them that Morigard's assassin had been found dead in his makeshift cell in the orphanage basement. None of the watchmen left to guard the place had anything strange to report and even though the officer in charge officially complained to Moonmother Stardust about the lack of security in the Hall, the investigation was quickly closed as no one really wanted to know who had killed one of of South ward's legends. The Watch filed it as a murder committed by elements of the Shadow Thieves wanting to silence him.

Taking a few days for themselves after months of adventure and action, the companions took some time to heal and grieve the man who had acted as their father for all their lives, preparing his funeral. When Rhivaun received an invitation by Cynzia Wesberry, a sembian merchant and a cleric of Selûne, the group reunited and took a coach to travel to Fair Winds, the villa Wesberry had rented in North ward.

As the coach was reaching the villa, they suddenly heard a scream into the night. Investigating the noise, Ayanna quickly realized that their coachman was under attack by a group of shadows. As quickly as the attack had started, the coachman was dead, his life sucked out by the undead creatures. Taken by surprise and not equipped to deal with the living dead, the group jumped or teleported out of the coach and alerted the nearest temple who was, luckily enough, the House of the Morning. Rapidly, a legion of paladins and templars to the god of Dawn were in the streets, hunting for the shadows. Returning to the site were the coach had crashed, they discovered that the body of their driver missed his left foot. According to Mersenne, this was the calling card of the Shadow Thieves. Taking this as an assassination attempt by the returning guild, the companions walked to Fair Winds, ready to meet with the sembian priestess.

Lady Wesberry was not alone in the mansion when Rhivaun and his friends entered. Arkin Tossum and his pack were in the courtyard, living there since Arkin's appartment had been deliberately destroyed in a fire during the Night of Chaos. The priestess revealed her association with Tossum's pack and her allegiance to the Pact of the New Moon, an allegedly heretical group of Selûnites dedicated to the destruction of evil lycanthropes and malarites. The woman, using her function as a traveling merchant, was trying to bring more lycanthropes into the organization and had recruited Arkin and the others one year ago. For her, the Scarred Beasts were the perfect example of ennemies that should be fought by the Church of Selûne. She complained about the obcession about politics that affected many fellow clerics of the Lady. Her objective was clear, create a large pack of New Moon hunters in Waterdeep to fight the rising influence of Malar in the region. She invited Rhivaun in the group but he politely answered that he needed time to consider the offer. The Pact of the New Moon had been declared an heresy years ago and accused of link with the Church of Shar. He could not join such a group without an investigation first!

One tenday later, the funerals of Morigard Dalrak took place in Stardust Hall's courtyard in presence of many dignitaries. After an heart wrenching song by Moonmother Stardust and speeches by Petyr, Rhivaun, Mersenne and Commissioner Gundwynd, they moved the dwarf's body to the City of the Dead and into the Hall of Heroes, a tomb dedicated to dead watchmen and war heroes. Later that night, the companions drank in the paladin's honor, returning to the orphanage at dawn.

Slowly after that, the lives of the companions of Stardust Hall settled and returned to normal, their investagations stopped by the lack of clues. Awaiting new informations or the manifestation of the ennemy, they took back their jobs as teachers at the orphanage. Soon however, another disturbance would force them back into the streets…

The streets of Waterdeep are now in chaos...

Leaving the Thirsty Throat with their knocked out prisoner, the orphans were left with a dilemna about the next step in their investigation: moving against Lord Urmbrusk or not? Choosing the first option might be their downfall as an arcanist ready to turn himself into a lich would certainly be a challenging opponent. However, choosing to avoid Favian Urmbrusk's mansion would signify the deaths of two innoncent citizens.

Unfortunately, the choice was made for them when a patrol of the Watch, alerted by the sounds of battle, stumbled upon them while they were still close to the tavern. Using guile, they succeeded in convincing them that they were not involved in the incident at the Thirsty Throat and moved away. Hearing the sounds of many Guard and Watch patrols, the investigators realized that something was wrong. The Watch would have been much more thorough in their questionning. Their fear was confirmed when Petyr received a magical call from his teacher, Thoros, ordering him to his tower with his friends. The sound of his voice was clear: the grumpy wizard was afraid.

When they arrived at Thoros' appartment, they found him in company of two cloaked individuals. He was equiped with wands and magical trinkets like Petyr had never seen him before. After locking the prisoner in a room, Thoros explained why he was so nervous and had called for help: one of the many enemies of the city has strucked that night. Many buildings were in flames and a few personalities, including the daughter of the Open Lord, had been assassinated. The information that transpired was that the Scarred Beasts were the ones responsible and that they had done the job on behalf of the Shadow Thieves.

Fearing for the orphanage, Thoros asked them to report to Morigard and help him in the protection of Stardust Hall. The old mage feared that the institution would be targeted for its link with the Church of Selûne and the presence of Morigard, an old enemy of the thieves' guild. He would, with the help of his mysterious partners, engage Lord Urmbrusk and free his victims.

Returning to the orphanage, they quickly discovered that Thoros' fears were shared by the Stardust Hall's staff as they were in the process of moving the children to the basement and secure the windows and doors with wood. Everything was efficiently organized and under the supervision of the old dwarf paladin Morigard while Vivian was busy arguing with her superior from the House of the Moon, Felnarra Orkalion. The orphanage's principal disapproved Felnarra's presence in this time of crisis, considering her too important to remain in the danger zone. The prior argued that a vision had sent her there and that she would not leave. Ending their argument, the two women, accompanied by the orphanage's administrator, returned inside to prepare themselves in case of an invasion.

The invasion came during the night. At first, it looked like an eartquake but soon, the defenders saw some strange creatures looking like stone scorpions emerge from the ground. Identified by Mersenne as Stonesingers, these aberrations immediately tried to destroy the defenses of the building while singing a strange song. As soon as the singers were killed, another wave of monsters attacked the courtyard of the Hall. This time, the attackers were humanoid insects identified as Vivisectors. These ones gave a lot more trouble to the defenders than the scorpions and the fact that they were able to fly facilitated their capacity to penetrate the defenses and even move inside the building. Finally, as two waves of attackers was not enough, a group of barbarians clearly sent by the Scarred Beasts pulled down the doors and moved in.

Using all this combat as a decoy, another ennemy climbed the wall and entered the orphanage, followed by a large wolf. Using their combat skills and luckily receiving the help of Ashraf Al-Jabari's mercenaries, the young heroes moved inside, tracking the tall ganger and his wolf. On the second floor, a few battles were involving Vivian, Morigard and the others, each in a different place in the building. The group had to face the ganger, later revealed to be the leader of the operation, his worg companion and a few vivisectors. When they finally reached the sector were Morigard was, the found him dead. At first, it seemed as if he had died defending the prior Orkalion from the ennemies. A closer inspection revealed that he had been stabbed in the back while fighting a large specimen of vivisector. The murder weapon was at the feet of a babbling Felnarra, lost in an intense and maddening vision.

Again thanks to Arya's elven eyesight, the saddened adventurers noticed the escape of an assassin and went to his pursuit on the roof. It finally ended in the alley next to the orphanage when Petyr caught the culprit in a web. The man, disguised as a scarred beast ganger was in reality a professional assassin with shadow-related powers close to what the Shadovars displayed.

Brought back to the orphanage in chains, Morigard's killer would be interrogated very soon. Then the would avenge the dwarf's death.

A race against time to find the two kidnapped victims before the deal between the Scarred Beasts and a candidate for lichdom is done

Fearing that the kidnapped victims might be delivered to the vile nobleman, the party decided to move quickly against their enemies, leaving Stardust Hall at night to scout the surroundings of the Thirsty Throat.

The place was being watched by junior members of the gang under the command of a werebat archer. Using disguises and trickery, the heroes successfully neutralized the watchmen and their lycanthropic boss, getting access to the warehouse next to the tavern. Finding nothing inside, they then moved to the other warehouse identified as Waukeen's Wares, property of the mercenary Orlen Grageon. This time, Arya had harder times unlocking the door but inside they find exactly the same thing as in the previous warehouse: nothing. After a quick examination of a sewer grate at the back of the building, Rhivaun and his friends were considering moving to the sewers when Arya instinctively found a secret door on the second floor that seemed to connect to the Thirsty Throat.

They quickly realized that they were not alone as two creatures looking like small elves and armed with scimitars appeared out of nowhere with an angry look in their eyes. The creatures, identified by Petyr as bralanis, were eladrins, extraplanar creatures usually serving the good elven deities. However, those were clearly agressive and were theatening anyone moving close to one of the doors. After an intense fight with the bralanis as well as with a ghost and a horde of drunken men, the adventurers succeeded in moving to the locked down room only to be greeted there by lightning bolts.

Inside the room were two persons, one man and one female waiting to conclude a deal. Two large chests stood next to the lady who was actually the one shooting the spells. The man in the room was Magnus Svarlsson, their old enemy. The werecougar was now disfigured, a punishment imposed by the Elders of his gang for his failures. He knew that his superiors would not tolerate another one. He was fighting to the death as the lady wizard, probably representing Lord Urmbrusk, was trying to flee with the help of her bralani bodyguards.

After a few attacks from Petyr, Mersenne and Arya, the magician was knocked down but her eladrin servant, grabbing her and using his flying abilities, helped her flee the scene, leaving the werecougar alone. He was finally brought down alive but not before bragging that his rivals had failed and that the two victims were now in possession of Lord Urmbrusk.

Time was of the essence. They had to move to save the kid and the old sailor before the evil malconvoker becomes a lich! But how could they succeed in moving against a rich and powerful noble?

Without clue to continue their hunt on the Scarred Beasts, the investigators try to find two residents of South ward who disappeared on the same night

After Magnus' escape, the group realized that they had no other clue to find him. They had to wait until he would manifest again. Unwilling to return to their regular jobs while mysteries remained unsolved, the party decided to follow another lead: the attack against Nindil Jalbuck. With the grocer's authorization, they searched through his house, hoping to confirm the rumor that he was a masked lord.

They indeed found a secret passage leading within the walls and to a secret basement but the place was filled with traps. After successfully moving through some of them, Mersenne and Ayanna were hit and Ayanna was teleported out of the building. Fearing for the youngsters' lives, Jalbuck ordered them to leave. They finally found Ayanna alive at Stardust Hall. Again, without more information, the investigators were stucked.

The next day, on the 26th of Tarsakh, they noticed something in the Daily Trumpet. Two citizens of South ward, a young boy and an old sailor, were reported missing by their respective families. The two victims did not know each other. Without hesitation, the heroes started a new investigation, suspecting the Scarred Beasts of this new crime. After a quick investigation in the neighborhood and a discussion with a conspiracy theorist named Cletor, accusing demons, they finally found something about the two missing persons in a small dive where the old sailor went to drink.

Buying alcohol for all the patrons in there, the group rapidly became popular with them, getting an easy access to information about the missing sailor. After a while, they were invited by a smiling man who claimed to have information about the kidnappings. This man, Rhuul, was only asking for a bottle of 1358 arabellan brandy and some information in exchange. He was clearly knowing the investigators. Accepting the deal, the party answered some questions about the Scarred Beasts and their lair in exchange for the name of the ones responsible for the kidnappings.

Rhuul identified the Scarred Beasts as the culprits, confirming the doubts of the heroes. He however told them that this job was done for someone else. Someone who wanted two pure souls for a vile necromantic ritual: lichdom. Petyr,who knew that a noble, a conjurer named Favian Urmbrusk had previously pruchased vile magical components for a similar ritual, suspected the noble of being behind the kidnappings. Rhuul also informed the group that the Beasts were just working for a more important organization: the Shadow Thieves. The guild had returned and was using the gang as brutes to remove business rivals and to bring chaos in the city. The gang leader, the Grey Beast, was actually the Silhouette of Thugs for the guild.

The mysterious informant finally sell them the location of one the Shadow Thieves former hideout, a tavern in Dock ward named the Thirsty Throat. They knew he was telling the truth since they had previously met Scarred Beasts in this establishment. Suspecting the victims to be there, the heroes prepared themselves to raid the tavern the next day.

Would they arrive on time to save the two victims? Would they finally remove the Scarred Beasts once and for all from Waterdeep or would they make another enemy, this time a powerful noble?

Receiving new informations from an unsuspected source, the heroes track down some hidden elements of the Scarred Beasts

After a briefing of the recent events to Moonmother Stardust and a quick rest, the investigators resumed their research about the mysterious leader of the gang, Grey Beast and the possible lairs and associates he could have. After witnessing the plans of the gang and their allies for the city, the Stardust Hall heroes were more determined than ever to remove the murderous bandits from the streets.

Later that day, they received a visit from Beren, Arya's eldest brother and known associate of Elaith Craulnober, who informed them that someone holding information about their enemies was waiting for them in a warehouse in Dock ward. Back there, they found a bound Tamarra, the werefox that had escaped them at the Full Cup. Clearly the elf had been captured by agents of The Serpent, interrogated and then delivered to them. She confessed her crimes and offered her full collaboration in exchange for protection. She had previously asked protection to Craulnober but the pragmatic elven crimelord, realizing that she was not really an elf but a cursed human transformed into an elf by the werefox curse, turned down her offer.

The penitent werefox told them about the motivations behind the attack on Nindil Jalbuck the grocer, about the way the gang operated, about their leaders and their mysterious informant, an elven diviner named Casrah. The diviner was not a member of the gang but an associate of the Elders. She also informed them about a feasthall that was often visited by high ranking members of the gang to negociate with other criminal organizations and with decadent nobles searching for muscles-for-hire. This place was the Lucky Cat in Trades ward.

Leaving Tamarra in the care of clerics of the Moonmaiden, the party then planned their visit to the feasthall, posing as mercenaries. After a fight against mechanical gladiators to pay for the entrance fee, they were able to meet the owner, a cormyrean expatriate with a passion for cats. They also met some of the patrons, from a Red wizard from the thayan embassy to two lovely aasimars dealing in illegal magical components. On the second floor, they found an old enemy: Magnus Svarlsson. he was in company of two other men, playing a card game. One of them was an haughty noble, Balthus Amcathra in company of a beautiful lady who seemed to be able to see through Rhivaun's cat form. The third player was a mysterious and unamed man flipping a platinum piece between his fingers.

At the end of the card game, Svarlsson left the gambling hall in company of two of his men and returned to their former lair under Coachlamp's Lane, taking the portal to the Wyllowwood. Not wishing to follow the werecougar in his lair, the heroes trapped the portal room and left, angry that the warblade had eluded them again.

Undercover, our heroes try to get accepted in their enemy's pack

Motivated by their success in convincing the cell leader, the party headed towards the Golden Fields to deliver a mysterious package to one of the priests there. The place was a serie of vast fields perfectly tended by devoted priests of Chauntea the Earthmother. They met there Harvestmaster Felstun, a passionate man who loved apple pies.

Opening the box, the priest found one of his favorite treats which passed all tests to confirm that it was not poisoned or cursed. After a delectable meal in company of the enthusiastic cleric, the adventurers left Waterdeep's granary and walked in direction of the farm of Graven Silverkin, a sheep herder supposed to be a friend to an important selûnite (Arkin Tossum). Not wishing to kill the friend of Arkin, they warned the man in advance to leave the farm so they could burn it and pass their initiation within the gang. As the were getting close to the farm, they quickly realized that they were watched: many foxes were following them, probably animals sent by the lycanthropes masters of the malarite gang.

After setting fire to the small farm and neutralizing an angry neighbor, the "Scarred Beasts applicants" returned to the Full Cup to inform the cell leader of their success. Unfortunately, someone has informed Erb and Tamarra of their real identities. Almost as soon as they walked in the briefing room, they were attacked by a wereboar, a werewolf and a flesh golem under the command of Erb who revealed himself as a wizard. With some efforts and tactics, the party successfully dispatched the two lycanthropes, the golem and his master but were unable to capture the waitress who was in truth the cell leader, a werefox.

Before he was killed, Erb gloated about how the gang had tricked one of their enemy in doing their dirty job and helping them release a virulent disease in the Golden Fields. Fearing the man was telling the truth, the young investigators left the Full Cup burning and ran to the House of the Moon, asking the clerics for help. Fearing contagion, the selûnites isolated the group and tested them while warning the authorities about a possible outbreak. It was later confirmed that some fields were showing traces of infection but the clerics and their attendants were fine. A more thourough research revealed that the disease, affecting only plants, was brought in the temple by the investigators. Nothing was in the mysterious box. It was just an excuse to make them enter the walls of the garanary. The disease, dubbed Talona's Rusting Kiss, was created in a lab in the basement of the Full Cup by an alchemist who was following instructions from a book written by clerics of the Lady of Poison. Immediately, the selûnite started working on an antidote while the group was moving back to their plan to remove the Scarred Beast threat from the streets forever.

With new information, the heroes make a retributive strike against the Scarred Beasts

Using his contacts at the House of the Moon, Rhivaun accessed the great library of the temple, searching for details about the mysterious expedition that Moonmother Stardust led to the jungles of Chult before establishing Stardust Hall. This expedition was considered a total failure and had led Moonmother Stardust to her self-imposed "exile" from the House of the Moon.

With the help of Celenor, a old friend of the family working as one of the libary's curator, Rhivaun found a small journal written by Stardust as a report to her superior. This journal confirmed that the priestess was not the sole leader of the expedition and that at least one lycanthrope was on the ship. Elril Brokengulf, a member of the famous family of hunters and trackers and a natural lycanthrope was leading an hunting party joining the mission since his family was financing the project.

In the jungle, the group found a tribe of catfolk named "Tabaxi" and quickly gained their confidence through exchanges and diplomacy. The natives accepted to help Brokengulf's hunters to captures rare beasts in exchange of waterdhavian goods and better weapons. In one of such expeditions to capture a exotic monster, Lord Brokengulf was ambushed by a creature, probably a black dragon, and horribly disfigured. As a werebadger, he fell into a killing frenzy and slaughtered most of the natives before he was forced to flee in the jungle by Moonmother Stardust's templars. The cleric never saw her noble partner again and returned to the city with less than a fourth of the explorers and the sole surviving tabaxi, a baby whom she adopted and named Ayanna.

Even though nothing in the journal confirmed the identity of the Grey Beast, Rhivaun was convinced that the leader of the Scarred Beasts was in fact Lord Brokengulf who had returned to Waterdeep. The Grey Beast's apparent knowledge of the city, his sense of organization, his understanding of Waterdeep's traditions and politics could certainly fit for an exiled noble.

As knowing more about their enemy's leader was not enough, the investigators then worked on discovering the location of the predator's lair. They already knew that the underground complex in South ward held a portal but Petyr was not sure about how to open it and more importantly, were it led. Working in his master's lab for hours, the tiefling conjurer finally manged to understand a spell to analyze portals from Thoros' spellbook.

With this spell in hand, Petyr led his friends back into the underground complex of the Scarred Beasts hoping to understand the reasons explaining the presence of a portal in a street gang's hideout. Casting the spell as his partners were guarding him, the tiefling discovered that the two-way magical gate was leading directly into Undermountain on a layer called Wyllowwood. To Mersenne's knowledge, Wyllowwood was supposed to be a natural forest transplanted into the underdark by the Mad Mage. It was rumored to hold cults of the Gods of the Fury and more precisely one dedicated to Malar the Beastlord. Using the same magical formula, Petyr managed to discover the password and the key to the portal in case they would need to investigate deeper into the gang's activities.

After a short rest while participating at the events of Waukeentide (and more precisely enjoying the events of Goldennight), the group resumed its investigation around South ward's second cell. They started back where Mersenne had tracked one of the presumed member a few days before and were attacked by archers hired to kill any curious wandering around the boarding house. The interrogation of the captured archers and the information gathered by Mersenne in the neighborhood led the party to another boarding house next to Grocer's lane.

They quickly realized something was wrong when Rhivaun noticed the odor of one of the presumed thug outside of the building. The traces in the street were leading directly to the Garrulous Grocer, South ward's most reputed grocery. As he led his friends closer, Rhivaun saw that the attackers had splitted in two groups, one going upstairs to the family's residence while the second one had entered into the shop. Doing the same, the party separated with Petyr and Arya moving to the shop's door while Ayanna, Rhivaun and Mersenne climbing the stairs.

Rhivaun's tracking was not mistaken as they found Scarred Beasts exactly where the cleric had said. Three of them, including a werecougar were seizing goods from the store as two others were holding Sealamin Jalbuck hostage. Almost immediately, the combat began and the young adventurers discovered quickly that the werecougar Magnus Svarlsson was also a warblade. In one jump and one hit from his bastard sword, the martial artist killed the celestial creature summoned by Petyr to act as a shield for him and Arya. Through team work and effective tactics, the heroes defeated the Scarred Beast party but a wounded Svarlsson abandonned his men and fled into the night.

After a quick but inconclusive investigation about the reasons of the attack and when they were sure the young Jalbuck was in safety, the victorious friends led their captives to Arkin's apartment in Trades Ward. As they did with the other gangers they defeated previously, they wished to interrogate them far away from the watch. This time though, the thugs would not answer to the usual threats and Petyr had to use more devious tricks to reveal the information. The wizard used a spell enabling him to read thoughts as Rhivaun, Ayanna and Mersenne were asking questions. With this tactics and patience, they discovered the cell official hideout, a tavern named the Full Cup. They also discovered the reasons Magnus and his men had attacked the Garrulous Grocer. First they had to collect foods to feed the gang. Second, they were ordered to confirm if the owner of the Grocer (and Sealamin's adoptive father), Nindil Jalbuck, was one of the secret Lords of the city. It seemed that this mission was done as a favor to one of the gang's allies.

After a few days of official work at the orphanage, the investigation took another direction as the companions visited the Full Cup. There they met with presumed members of the Scarred Beasts and, acting as mercenaries, were hired for two jobs to prove themselves. If the test was conclusive, they would work for the gang officially with all the benefits of a regular member. This was the perfect way to understand the gang and to slowly work against it. The first mission, for the less moral members of the mercenary band was to torch a small farm outside of the city. The farm was owned by a friend of an agent of the Church of Selûne and was a message to the said agent. The second mission, for the rest of the band, was to infiltrate a box inside the Goldenfields, Waterdeep's granary.

What were the plans of the gang's mysterious leader? The only way to discover them would be to successfully infiltrate the Scarred Beasts. The complicated part will be to do so without causing harm to the city or to a selûnite…

Mourning a friend while gathering allies for war

Grieving, the heroes left their ennemies's lair and brought back with them the bodies of Drudarch and the two lycanthropes they killed. Realizing that the presence of a lycanthrope affiliated with the Scarred Beasts posed a great threat to the city, Rhivaun immediately informed the high ranking clerics of the House of the Moon who could in turn inform the authorities. Rapidly, the Lords ordered the selunites to hunt down the street gang as Commissoner Gundwynd would finish his cleansing of the Watch.

Leaving the official measures to High Initiate Orkallion and her subordinates, the heroes met back at Stardust Hall to decide on the next steps to take against the murdering bandits and more importantly, what to do with Drudarch. Even though they wished to bring him back to life using their savings, they quickly learned that he did not wish to return. Wounded yet accepting his decision, Drudarch's friends began to organize his funerals. They would take place on a beach near the sea elf trade post. There he would be sunk by the elves and returned to the sea.

During on visit at the House of the Moon while they were preparing the funerals, the party met with Mersenne, a former occupant of Stardust Hall who also acted in the past as their music teacher. He had just returned to Waterdeep after a few years of training in the South and had learned about Stardust Hall's problems.

Two days after, on a beach outside the city, Rhivaun and Moonmother Stardust held the ceremony honoring their friend in front of most of Stardust Hall's residents and employees as well as a few strangers. Some of them, unknown to the party and clearly lacking manners, were laughing and smiling as Rhivaun was reciting his oraison. Insulted by the impertinence of the strangers, Petyr and Mersenne went to them to inquire about the reason of their presence at the funeral and to shut them up.

It seemed they were citizens of South ward who wanted to "honour their hero" for a last time". Clearly, something was fishy with their story so as soon as Drudarch's body was sinking in the sea, the investigators started to follow them back into the city. As Aria was away on a mission for her brothers, it was Ayanna who succeeded in tracking one of the suspected members of the Scarred Beasts back to a boarding house.

Returning to Stardust Hall, the young teachers, inspired by the Red Rubies, decided to organize a militia in South ward. Knowing that laws against organized militias existed, they seeked the approval of respected citizens of the district and the support of Commissioner Gundwynd, the new High Priestess of Siamorphe and even from the monastery of Tyr! When the legal aspect of their new endeavor was solved, they met with wealthy merchants and with people who would approve of a strong answer to the threats affecting South ward. Together, they organized groups of mercenaries working for different residents of the city and only linked by the same principle: kicking the Scarred Beasts out of South ward! The nobles, who would usually see this as a violation of their privileges, supported the idea thanks to the intervention of the church of Siamorphe who owed the group for their participation in the capture of the assassins who killed their previous high priestess a few months ago. With the financial help of the church and of some merchants, the militia started to train and to patrol a tenday after the original meeting and is now securing the ward hence improving the business to the profit of all waterdhavians!

Participating in their own initiative, the group decided to return to the underground complex in their search of the wererat responsible for Drudarch's demise. Fortunately for them, the monstrous lycanthrope had returned to his former lair to collect some items and this time, failed to escape Rhivaun and his friends. They brought him to Arkin's appartment in Trades ward were he was debriefed and later executed by one of Arkin's packmates. He gave them important informations before his death: there was a second cell in South ward and it was led by a werecougar named Magnus Svarlsson. Also, the leader of the gang, a werebadger nicknamed the "Grey Beast" was a foreigner who knew Waterdeep well.

Realizing that the strangers from the funerals could be members of the second cell, Mersenne left to investigate on his own as his new friends returned to StardustHall to inform Moonmother Stardust about their newfound informations. Her reaction to these new details made Rhivaun realize that his godmother knew something about the Grey Beast's identity. To confirm his intuition, the young priest insisted to visit the temple's library, hoping to find more information about him.

With more knowledge about their leaders, their lairs and their methods, the hunted could now turn the table on their predators and hunt them back…

Tracking the hunter into his lair

After a night of streetfighting and a long day of work at the orphanage, the group decided to resume their investigation on the Scarred Beasts, hoping to find their source for silversheen, an alchemical compound expensive to produce. After discussions with experts, including guild members and wizards, they returned to the orphanage without anyting more than a feeling that the watch might be involved.

As they approched the gates of Stardust Hall, they noticed a coach parked in front of it and watchmen around it. Morigard, who notices them, informs them that a watch patrol came for them, wishing to ask a few questions about the events of the previous night. On the advice of both Morigard and Vivian, the group accepted to go to the South gate for an "interview". There, they meet the senior civiliar Rodvel Oyaun, in charge of the investigation on the events of Coachlamp's Lane. Without any proper introductions, he informs them that they were seen on Coachlamp's Lane and indentified by some bystanders as those responsible for the deaths of some men. Using his talent for manipulation and misdirection, Petyr succeed in fooling the watchman in believing that they actually were partying in a tavern when these dreadful events happenened. Before releasing them, senior civiliar Oyaun asked his guests to fill a long report to help in his investigation. Clearly, even though he was believing them, the investigator was trying to stall them and was suspicious. As the discussion was about to end, a patrolman entered the room and discreetly informed civiliar Oyaun that a building was burning in South ward and that he was needed on the scene.

Allowed to leave by the suspicious officer, the party runs towards the smoke, fearing it might be the orphanage. Fortunately, they pass Stardust Hall on the High Road and realize it is safe. The fire was a bit farther, near Curtain Alley: the Midnight's Sun, one of their favorite hangouts! As they get there, they see a small crowd of shocked patrons and witnesses who plead for someone to rescue the few that are still inside. The usual staff of the taverm, Neri, Horil and Belril Kevfalcon are nowhere to be seen. Immediately, Ayanna and Drudarch enter the inferno and realize that the fire is not an accident: Belril, the owner and bartender is impaled on the wall with javelins, his body already burning. The room itself shows that a combat happened here and after a quick search, Ayanna finds Neri, the waitress, unconscious under a broken table. Slowly awakening, Neri reveals that a small group of tatooed thugs started the fire, killed Belril and kidnapped his adoptive son Horil. For them it is clear that this is another move of the Scarred Beasts.

Leaving Neri and the other victims to the care of the crowd and, using Rhivaun's keen senses, the group begin to track down the gangers' scent, finally realizing they had moved back to Coachlamp's Lane. Even though he was convinced the bandits were on that street, their scent was now masked by an alchemical product. Searching the building surrounding the entrance of the street, Drudarch realized that the abandonned furniture store where they fought on the previous night was right next to them…Since it was the only abandonned building on the small street, they decide to check it.

Besides finding traces of their brutal fight from yestereve, the group also discovered a set of stairs going to the basement filled with furniture. Behind large quantities of dusty old desks, tables and cupboards, one of the investigator finds a hidden trapdoor behind a false pannel on the wall. Before they even have the chance to open it though, two incorporeal creatures looking like burned victims appear and strike them. If not for Rhivaun's divine power over undead and Petyr's magic, the two undead would have been victorious that evening. Opened, the hidden door revealed a set of stairs going down deep under the basement.

These stairs revealed a large subterrenean complex probably older than the Scarred Beasts filled with traps and strange rooms devoid of any architectural logic. After a quick exploration of the first rooms, the party finally located Horil and his kidnappers in a trapped tunnel not too far away. One of the thugs was explaining to the half-orc that he had been chosen to be the holy prey for an important malarite ritual. If he would survive the whole day, he would be free to leave and would never again be targeted by the followers of the Beastlord. Left alone with a dagger, Horil was soon joined by his friends from the orphanage and showed signs of injuries that could be have been infected by a lycanthrope. Not taking any chances, the large half-orc was evacuated ot the House of the Moon to be treated.

Wishing to capture the monsters, they immediately returned to the secret hideout, disguising Drudarch to look exactly as Horil, hoping this technique would fool the "hunters". It actually did! As Drudarch and the other were walking in a corridor, they were ambushed by a single opponent, the blonde man with claw-like nails. Surprising Drudarch, the barbarian raked him a few times, striking him with solid blows before getting surrounded and neutralized by the group.

After a quick search of the complex and the discovery of a chapel dedicated to Malar the Beastlord, the explorers found the missing teens of Coachlamp's Lane in a deep pit. Most of them were afraid and starving but two of them, older than the others, were cocky and agressive. Unsure about these two but unwilling to let them in the pit, the group left the complex with the kids, taking them back to their parents, promising to check on the two delinquents frequently.

Shortly after their return, this time with Drudarch disguised as Horil to lure the malarites, the group was ambushed by a displacer beast, a werewolf and a cleric of the Beastlord. Unsure about their chances, they used a web spell casted by Petyr and the divine power of Rhivaun to turn lycanthropes to take the advantage. While holding the werewolf and the cleric in check, Ayanna and Drudarch succeeded in killing the displacer beast but the taste of victory was short-lived as the priest of the Hunter transformed into another werewolf, howling loudly within the catacombs, clearly calling for backups. His call for help was soon answered by another Scarred Beast, this time a large wererat and his pet, a tall grey creature with six eyes and gigantic claws.

Using the same power of lycanthrope turning against the wererat, Rhivaun succeeds in making their newest opponent flee as the large monster is attacked by his monk friend and the rest of the party is still trying to finish the figth with the two werewolves. Finally,after sending a volley of spells against one of them, he falls dead, leaving only one lycanthrope alive.Fearing the cleric might use his magic to save his partner, Rhivaun uses all his might against the fallen werewolf, ending his life with a hard blow of his moonhand mace on the werewolf's skull.

Meanwhile on the other corner of the room, Drudarch is desperately trying to stop the grey beast's escape by engaging her more closely in combat. Unfortunately for him, she was alot more powerful than the half-elf and seized him with her claws, ripping him apart with a few bites and rakes of her talons. Discarding the broken body of her opponent, the savage creature, severely wounded, tried to follow her master in the tunnels of the complex but was stopped by another spell of Petyr, now specialized in ending battles.

Alone and cornered, the cleric of Malar was easily dispatched by the catfolk swordsage and her adoptive brother after a long exchange of blows. This savage battle, probably the toughest ever experienced by the group left a terrible after taste since even though they were victorious, they had lost one friend and let escape one of their ennemies.

After healing their most important wounds, the sadden adventurers inspected the bodies of their fallen foes in search for clues and were surprised to see that the first werewolf, who had reverted to his natural shape, was actually the seniro civiliar Rodvel Oyaun, the one and the same who had interrogated them a few hours ago! They now had a proof that the Scarred Beasts were not only a street gang but a powerful and influent criminal organization.

They would surely need help to bring down these foes…Bringing Drudarch's body with them, they left the tunnels, returning to the House of the Moon to prepare their retalliation…

The hunt starts in South Ward...

After allowing Alikhan Hawkthorne some rest, the group asked her to explain what exactly happened in that store. She answered by first telling them what the Disciples of Erathaol really were: conjurators specialized in the summoning of fiends and in their manipulation for the cause of good. She also told them that on that fateful night, the grand master of their little group, was trying to determine who were responsible for the death of the Champion of Tyr and the High Lady Scion of Siamorphe by summoning a powerful demon at the service of Cyric, Lord of Murder.

As the demon appeared within the circle, ready to be interrogated, a group of tyrran knights entered the conjuration chamber with a declaration from Tyr's new champion, Harkas Kormallis. This edict accused them of being tainted by demonic influence and would face Tyr's judgement for the crimes commited by the fiends they summoned. As a loud argument started between the two factions, the glabrezu freed himself and summoned three demons to his help: a bar-lgura, a succubus and a vrock. Rapidly, most of the disciples and a few of the inquisitors were butchered but not before the grand master had banished back the glabrezu.

If not for the intervention of the group, the three demons would have killed the rest of the occupants of the shop's basement and would now be three wrecking havoc in the streets. Realizing that someone had targeted the disciples for assassination, she admitted not knowing of any ennemy organizations besides demonic cults.

After an heated debate over the morality of demon summoning for the cause of good, Alikhan and her rescuers went to sleep without any clues about all the problems they would face on the next morning.

Returning to Stardust Hall for his duties and to inform Moonmother Stardust about the situation, Rhivaun Silvermantle of Selûne saw the carriage transporting High Initiate Felnarra Orkalion, the prior of the House of the Moon, right in front of the orphanage. The High Priestess' assistant, reputed for her foul mood and her haughty attitude, was particularly mad this day. She was accompanied by a small man dressed in a clerk's outfit.

Summoned to Vivian's office, Rhivaun was severely blamed for bringing the church of Selûne into a conflit with the clergy of Tyr. House of the Moon's prior informed Vivian and Rhivaun that Tyr's Champion, Harkas Kormallis, made an official complaint about the events that took place in the Disciples' hideout and the offer of asylum that the young priest proposed to the wizard wanted by Tyr's inquisition. The zealot paladin asked for her immediate release and also demanded harsh punishment for the youngsters who interfered with hsi agents. Fearing long-term conflict with the most powerful church in town, Orkallion ordered Moonmother Stardust to accept the demands of Kormallis.

Already in conflict with her prior, Vivian defended her stepson and his friends as much as she could before the High Initiate stopped the discussions. She would place the orphanage under the direct supervision of an administrator who would report to her directly. The surviving member of the Disciples would be delivered to the tyrrans and Stardust Hall's "troublemakers"would lay low or be expelled from the building and from the church.Unwilling to negociate, High Initiate Orkallion left soon after, leaving the new administrator, Brandon "The Stern", in charge.

Not willing to really punish her children, Vivian gave more them more tasks related to their actual occupations within the orphanage and begged them to stop any ongoing investigation for a while. Rhivaun was assigned to the House of the Moon's library under the tutelage of Celenor, an old friend of his family.

Realizing Alikhan was wanted by both the church of Tyr and Selûne and unknown assassins, Petyr proposed to help her search for a mean to leave Waterdeep, hiding her first in Thoross' appartment and then in Dock Ward, far away from her ennemies. One week later, the malconvoker was on a ship bound for Baldur's Gate and left the harbor unoticed.

A month later, the stubborn adventurers were ready to resume their investigation, still concerned that an unknown criminal organization, presumably the Shadow Thieves, was active in South ward and in Waterdeep at large. Realizing that, as citizens they didnt had the authority to investigate properly and that the corruption within the watch was so generalized that they could not trust the watchmen, Ayanna and Drudarch proposed to start an official private investigators' guild with the blessing of the Lords.

Finally getting an audience in front of Open Lord Piergeiron and his fellow masked Lords, Ayanna, Drudarch and Petyr exposed their ideas to the Paladinson. Unfortunately, the Lords rejected their demand since they did not wished to undermine the watch's legitimity. Disapointed, the trio returned to South ward and joined Arya and Rhivaun at the Midnight's Sun for a drink. There, a bearded man in an explorer's outfit asked if he could join them at their table.

This fellow introduced himself as Malchor Harpell, a wizard who had heard about their initiative with the Lords and who thought he could help by financing their operations. As a powerful wizard, Harpell would also provide magical items and information. He did not asked for something in echange, only adding that "Waterdeep's, an more importantly South Ward's security and prosperity were the best rewards he could ask for".

After a honest discussion, their new patron left, giving them some information about some vandalism in a small neighborhood in South ward. He also told them that even though the watch was warned, no one even bothered to visit or to investigate.

With these informations, the group went on Coachlamp's Lane to see for themselves what happened in that neighborhood. Talking to traumatised residents, they soon realized that the thugs who attacked them not only destroyed their stores and houses but also kidnapped some of their children. The kids who had disappeared all had problems with authority or were to easily angered and prone to violence. It did not took long for the investigators to understand that the attack was a way to recruit new members in the gang. Since the attack happened at night and the brutes promised to return, the group decided to set up a vigil on the roof of one of the tallest building to assess the situation. The gang did not returned that night and the tired adventurers returned to Stardust Hall the next morning to resume their ordinary fonctions as teachers for the orphans.

After a long day or work was about to end, our heroes were called by a despaired resident of Coachlamp's Lane, begging them to come to the rescue. The brutes were back and were attacking some defenseless citizens. The two fastest members of the group, Ayanna and Arya, immediately followed the old man, asking Drudarch to inform Petyr and Rhivaun of the situation.

The two heroic ladies soon realized that the distress call was a trap when three thugs armed with battleaxes and displaying barbarian-like powers, attacked them. Challenged by more powerful foes, Arya and Ayanna used their good sense of tactics (and dirty tricks)to stall their opponents who were soon backed by a fourth unseen ennemy. Clearly disadvantaged at two against four, Ayanna still succeeded in neutralizing one of the barbarians but not before one of his fellows had stroke down Arya with his axe. Using her as an hostage, the gangers, led by a tatooed man with claw-like nails, tried to negociate Ayanna's surrender. Unfortunately for them, Drudarch arrived at this precise moment, giving Ayanna the opportunity to prepare a counterstrike.

Understanding the dire situation the two girls were in, Drudarch retreated to get Petyr and Rhivaun's help. Hiring a street kid to deliver the message back to the orphanage, Drudarch climbed on a roof to scout for more ennemies. Back in the alley, Ayanna used the distraction of her half-elven friend's sudden appearance to neutralize another thug and save Arya. Loosing the advantage, the tatooed leader fled the scene leaving his fellow brigand to the tabaxi swordsage.

Beshaba had clearly chosen the party that day because as soon as Ayanna and Arya were out of harm, Drudarch was discovered by scouts for the gang who targeted him with their bows. Using his draconic wings, the monkish half-elf left his hideout to face his opponents on the other side of the street. Fortunately for him, he was soon joined by his friends inside the building were another little group of thugs were hiding. Against six opponents, all displaying the same powers as their fellows in the alley, the fight was almost hopeless. Especially since most of them had silversheen and were aware of Rhivaun's condition. One of them even teased the young cleric by promising him a "worthy death when he would be sacrificed to Malar". He also had a tatoo on his arm identifying him as one of the Scarred Beasts.

With many wounded, the group was forced to flee but could proudly say that they had downed at least two of their opponent before. They now had a better idea of who their ennemy was: the Scarred Beasts, a street gang that included worshippers of Malar the Beastlord, one of Selûne's major ennemy. Rhivaun was furious and calling for an holy war against the malarites as the others' only wish was to rest and to be healed.

As one ennemy was finally revealed, our heroes now needed to plan their next move against it hence it would spread chaos, fear and death in South ward's streets…

The day after the capture of Elorus the crazed elf, the young heroes decided to visit the Naked Siren in Dock Ward were they could learn more about the next target of the mysterious criminal organization. As they went outside the orphanage to begin their mission, a moon elf politely invited them to get in the luxurious coach stopped on the street next to Stardust Hall. Inside they met Elaith Craulnober, the infamous elven merchant who asked about their investigation and the stolen elven medallion, confirming that he wasnt involved in the murders but really interested in acquiring the sunite's necklace. He offered them great rewards for the necklace before they told him they already had brought back the item to its rightful owner. Accepting coldly their answer, he politely invited to think about him the next time they would find another elven work of art. The elven lord was clearly upset.

After leaving Craulnober, the group travelled to Sail street in Dock Ward and were about to walk into the tatoo parlor when three large thugs went out. As they walked by, they rudely pushed away Petyr and insulted Selûne, sending Rhivaun into a violent rage. Soon the three attackers, who were using lethal force, had been knocked out, dropped in an alley and disarmed. As the companions returned to the shop, it was closed and locked up. The owner, an artist named Lenrik was afraid that some killers were coming for him. He admitted to be the one who made the coded tatoos on the elf's back, explaining that he never saw the one who delivered the drawings, receiving them, along with some money, at his door. Trading his knowledge against some protection, Lenrik explained the meanings behind the tatoos and helped Petyr decrypt the newest one that was never executed. Lenrik, who was an amateur of puzzles, also told that the he thought that the organization behind these tatoos was the Shadow Thieves and the rumor was that they were back.

With the probable target's name, the Disciples of Erathaol, all the group had to do was to track them down and protect them from assassins. But who were this strange group? A religious cult? Using his vast knowledge about religions, Rhivaun confirmed that the Disciples were a small religious cult dedicated to Erathaol, the holy patron of scholars and seers and a powerful servant of Tyr, god of Justice. With the help of a monk of Ilmater and a dissident cleric of Tyr, they learned that a small group of Disciples had entered Waterdeep a few weeks before winter and were disagreeing with some decisions of the new fanatical leader of the church of Grimjaws.

Using the information given by the two holy men, the young adventurers finally managed to discover the secret hideout of the mysterious scholars in a shop in South Ward, Zelgard's Bazaar. The place seemed deserted even though they arrived there right in the middle of the afternoon. Something was wrong and it was rapidly confirmed when Arya failed to pick the lock of the front door and Petyr realized he was unable to teleport himself inside using his magic. Things turned even more dramatic when an horrible scream was heard from behind the door. Someone was slamming against the door, begging for help. Before Drudarch and Ayanna even broke through the door, the screams stopped.

As they went in, they discovered the mutilated body of a foreigner dressed in strange robes. The store, who sold alchemical and magical items, was a mess and as they explored around, they found a trail of blood leading downstairs. In the basement, who was actually a large conjuration room, they stumbled upon the surviving member of the Disciples of Erathaol hidden among the mutilated bodies of their comrades and of some knights bearing the symbol of Tyr. Still having no clues as to what had attacked the scholars since she was in shock, the group explored the rest of the basement, finally discovering two followers of Tyr and another conjurer, hidden in different conjuring rooms.

Things get even worse as the surviving wizard accuses the other of being an demon in disguise. As Ayanna confirmed the accusation, revealing the third conjurator was actually a succubus, two large demons, one looking like a purple vulture and the other like an orange gorilla, appeared and attacked soon killing one of the two surviving tyrrans.

With the help of both the knight of Tyr and the conjurator, the group dispatched the succubus and the demon identified by Petyr as a bar-lgura but were unable to stop the vrock's escape. He fled in the streets of South Ward, promising destruction and suffering to its inhabitants. Desperately trying to warn the authorities about the demon's presence, the party was stopped by the zealot tyrran, identifying himself as a knight inquisitor of the church of the Maimed God. As he was trying to arrest the wizardess who had helped them on charges of demon summoning and public endangerment, Rhivaun interferred and offered asylum to her. Realizing that he wasnt in condition to fight the group, the knight left the scene, promising to bring this matter to Tyr's Champion Kormallis.

Sending Ayanna to warn the authorities about the vrock's presence, Stardust Hall's heroes brought Alikhan the malconvoker to Thoross' tower to debrief her about what happened at the Disciples' hideout.

By protecting this mysterious woman, the group made a new powerful ennemy, this time on the side of the law…What exactly was the church of Tyr's part in all the recent events? Maybe the interview of the young conjurator would bring new light to it…

Tracking the people responsible for the assassination attempts on religious authorities

Using information given by Aloryl, the group arrive at Gondalim's, a Trades Ward feasthall where Abryram Actonessen is supposed to hang out. He is supposed to be an important agent of the Margaster noble family who resides in Waterdeep in winter. He spents most of his time at Gondalim's gambling and spending his large salary.

Using disguise and trickery, they finally met with the man, discussing with him for a while. Unfortunately, Abryram was far better at evaluating characters and soon realized something was wrong. He politely left the table to finish the evening in company of an "entertainer" but also called for a messenger to be sent to his room.

Soon after, the young boy left with a message that was intercepted by Ayanna. The letter was adressed to a group of thugs that Abryram often hired to "solve" problems around his business. This time the problem was the party.

Realizing that the merchant had just threatened their lives and those of the orphans of Stardust Hall, they moved against him. Using magic and strength, they entered his room and knocked him and his concubine out, transporting him to the Warrens for interrogation.

He was less talkative than Aloryl and refused to even aknowledge any involvment in the events that happened two days before. Using his status as an agent of an important noble clan, Abryram was answering to the party's threats by his own. Seeing that their methods were not giving results, Rhivaun called for the help of Arkim Tossum, his godfather. Using unorthodox methods that made Drudarch and Ayanna uneasy, Arkin sucessfully made Abryram talk, revealing that he was indeed the one who hired Aloryl and the bards responsible for the riot in Castle Ward. The caravaneer also reavealed that he was working for an unknown organization powerful enough to pay him large sums for his services.

Since they had proof that some elements in the watch were corrupted, Rhivaun proposed to give their new prisonner to the church of Siamorphe since his actions had led to the death of their high priestess. By doing so, the group made strong allies in the church of the Noble Lady.

As another suspect turned into a scapegoat, the young investigators resumed their search for the real culprit, this time breaking into a Margaster warehouse in South Ward. In Abryram's office, the found proof of his employers intentions to pinpoint Craulnober as the one behind these attacks. Unfortunately the motives were not in the letters.

Exploring the building, Arya discovered a secret passage leading to an underground room with an access to the sewers. This underground complex, the remnants of a secret hideout for the Margaster family, was filled with traps, critters (rats, a choker and a gelatinous cube) and sewage that finally led to a small alcove hidden behind a secret door. This alcove was the lair of a strange burned out elf wizard who immediately tried to kill the invaders. After a quick and violent battle, Stardust Hall's elite knocked out with both the wizard and his vargouille familiar.

A thourough inspection of the elf revealed a tatoo and more burn marks that seemed to cover large parts of his body. Petyr speculated that these burn marks were actually acid burns used to remove previous tatoos. These tatoos acted as orders from the elf's superior. An analysis of the actual tatoo revealed that he was the one who ordered Abryram to target the selunite and siamorphite priestesses. The tatoo was signed by a tatoo artist from the Naked Siren, a tatoo parlor in Dock Ward.

Following an inconclusive interrogation of the deranged elf, the group returned to Stardust Hall after a quick stop to the House of Beauty to deliver the mad elf to the clerics of the Goddess of Beauty in response to his participation in the attempt to kill their High priestess.

They were closer to an answer but were they ready to face whoever had hire Elorus the Mad elf?

Investigating attacks on religious leaders

A few days have passed since the events in the Warrens and it is slowly returning to normal at the orphanage. The youngs residents and their teachers are slowly preparing themselves for a new holiday organized by the combined churches of Sune, Lliira, Sharess and Tymora that is supposed to bring warmth in the hearts of Waterdeep's citizens. The joy and hope brought by this new festival, called Brightwater, is rapidly toned down as Tyr's high priest Lord Hammer Hykros Allumen, is discovered dead in his own quarters in the Halls of Justice. It is clear that he died by the hand of an assassin.

As the death of Tyr's prelate is announced in the streets, a coach transporting High Initiate Felnarra Orkalion stops in front of Stardust Hall. Waterdeep's second most powerful selunite is there to ask to Moonmother Stardust to assist her in the ceremony in the funerals of one of the most generous donator to the church, Lord Maernos who died a month ago. Rhivaun is asked to act as an underpriest and his friends as the honor guard for the cleric during the ceremony. The next day after a sober and very spiritual ceremony, Lord Maernos' body is transported through the streets of the city to be laid to rest in the City of the Dead.

As the procession reaches the Market, it is stopped by a large group of elves and half-elves manifesting their anger against the former mercenary lord who was, before his conversion to the Moonmaiden, a ruthless bigot. Rapidly, the manifestation degenerated into a riot after a few elements into the crowd used magic to augment the anger of the mob. It soon became clear that the riot was just a diversion as assassins came out of the shadows to attack the leading priests of the procession (Lady Belkerri Gulderhorn of Siamorphe, Ssaeril Shadowstar of Sune and Felnarra Orkalion of Selûne).As the priesteesses' bodyguards were busy pushing back the mob, it was up to the party to eliminate the threat of the assassins, led by a powerful half-silver dragon.

After a furious combat, the successfully neutralized a few of the attackers but not before one had struck a fatal blow to Lady Gulderhorn and stole Shadowstar's elven made necklace. A thorough investigation in the alleys used by the bandits revealed a clue dropped by mistake by one of them: a small bit of paper with the name of a Trades Ward tavern on it!

As they kept investigating, the companions of Stardust Hall discovered that most of their leads where accusing one man: Elaith "The Serpent" Craulnober, a rich elven merchant with a sinister reputation. Craulnober effectively had arguments with most of the targets, was a renowned collector of elven artefacts and was also the secret owner of the Grey Griffon, the famous Trades Ward tavern.

The Griffon was managed by a cowardly half-elf with an habit for gambling named Aloryl. When questionned, Aloryl denied ay implication in the events that took place in the Market and called his corrupted friends in the watch to remove the noisy investigators from his establishment. As Petyr, Ayanna and Drudarch were trying to escape the guard post, Rhivaun and Arya kept on trying to get more information from Aloryl, finally managing to get a confession out of him. He had recently contracted an important debt while gambling with a caravan operator from the Margaster Clan, a man named Abryram. In exchange for a total cancellation of his debt, Aloryl was to hire a few assassins including an half silver dragon. Not aware that his real boss would be implicated and that he would probably loose more than money when the Serpent would discover, he accepted the deal and hired the professional killers.

Aloryl was just one scapegoat in a complicated plan to remove some powerful citizens of Waterdeep but who were the real masterminds behind all this? This Abryram? Craulnober? To find out, the adventurer would have to push their investigation farther and confront more powerful ennemies…

Helping Waterdeep's little citizens

What had started as a hunt for a criminal turned out to be more complicated as the Stardust Hall adventurers learned from the small clerics that the creature that was captured was an evil fey that appeared in the Warrens with a few others after a large in the hole in a wall was made by noble adventurers coming out of the sewers. This hole also spilled some sewage in the tunnels, bringing diseases and rats with it. The feys then started to attack the citizens, turning them in emotionless, helpless people. When the clergy asked for help from the Lords and the plumber's guild, their demands were ignored, leading to a loss of confidence in the authorities. Unable to rely on the "Tall people" to remove the threats to their community, the leaders of the Warrens turned to vigilantes for help.

These vigilantes turned out to be the Wonder Bringers, who helped the community by stopping the flow of sewage and water, and by fending off some attacks by thugs from the Scarred Beasts. It seemed clear that the burglars were not criminals in the Warrens but saviors. It would be tough to get help from them to track down Cobwheel. It is again with the party's negotiation skills that they managed to get a meeting with a Wonder Bringers representative.

The party met with a gnome named Horace in Dock Ward the night after their visit to the Warrens. Suspicious at first, he was protected by two dwarven sharpshooters hidden on the roofs of the warehouses near the meeting spot. Horace's mission was to see if the adventurers asking questions around were agents of the Scarred Beasts or just some other adventurers seeking excitement and fame. Learning about their actions in the Underdark tavern the night before and realizing their genuine intentions to help the citizens of the "Hidden Ward", Horace accepted to organize a meeting with Nigel and was almost about to leave when he was savagely attacked from behind by a strange beast looking like an undead hunting cat (identified later as a Feral Yowler). The two snipers supposed to protect Horace from their hideouts were mysteriously disabled by invisibles assassins as the magical blurry cat finished his job on the gnomish diplomat. Fortunately, one of the two dwarven snipers was saved by Arya, leaving one Wonder Bringer alive to testify on the good intentions of the party.

With this testimony and the intervention of the allied churches of the Warrens, the gondar cleric turned vigilante accepted the party's offer to meet in a neutral ground, the chapel to Yondalla, Garl and Moradin. Realizing that for once, he had allies, Cobwheel explained his actions, justifying them with the apparent lack of interest from the authorities. A deal was then proposed by the selûnites: they would help remove the Joystealer threat and in exhange, the Wonder Bringers would give back the stolen weapons. Cobwheel would also need to accept a meeting with his former high priestess. In good faith, since he was really working to the improvement of the small citizens' lives, Cobwheel accepted the deal and he charged his men to move all the unaffected citizens in a school near the temple. There the adventurers would bait the evil feys and capture or eliminate them.

After hours of patience, the two small-sized feys answered the call and one was easily dispatched by the might of the five adventurers. The other fled through a wall but was caught and killed in an alley after a small chase. True to his word, the gnome leader to the Safebreakers' Guild organized the return of the stolen weapons in return of total immunity for him and his men as well as some help from the Church of Selûne to solve the other problems of the underground district. The only unsolved mystery on this investigation was the extinction of all the forges in the city as prophecized by a young nomad in Daggerford.

An introduction to Waterdeep's little races

Its the beginning of the Year of Wild Magic (1372 DR) in Waterdeep and its inhabitants are celebrating the beginning of new year. The staff and residents of Stardust Hall, an orphanage run by the clergy of Selûne and Ilmater, are no exception.

Returning to their home after a long night of drinking and partying, the group surprises a small gang of gnomes and dwarves who are about to steal from a blacksmith neighbor. They stop them but, trusting the small thieves word that they were only acting to help their families and their promise to never steal again, the group let them go even though their friend Drudarch is against the idea.

The next morning, the Daily Trumpet, one of Waterdeep's newspapers, announces that almost all South Ward's blacksmiths have been robbed on the previous night. Strangely, only the dwarven one were left alone by the thieves. The article also mentions that the authorities think that the thefts were done by an organized group, probably the same that is responsible for a series of thefts in a few nobles’ villas in North Ward. Asking a few questions around, the group manages to identify the probable culprits: a group of burglars named the Wonder Bringers, a small non-violent gang usually operating in Dock Ward and composed only of halflings, dwarves and gnomes. Named in the honor of Gond, God of craft and invention, the small guild specialized in safe breaking and mechanical traps are supposed to be led by an rogue priest of the Father of Invention.

Following this lead, the young adventurers took upon themselves to track down the culprits and bring to justice, wishing to protect their neighborhood and correct their mistake of the last evening. After a visit to the House of Inspired Hands and a meeting with its high priestess, they confirmed that the Wonder Bringers's leader was an exiled cleric of the Wonderbringer named Nigel Cobwheel. Cobwheel was a promising inventor and cleric of the church until he sold the blueprints of traps and safes to criminals. Realizing that the high priestess would not reveal information that could lead to a loss of prestige for her church, Rhivaun suggested that the party could track down and capture the unethical priest and bring him back to face his peers' judgement. Appreciating the tact of the young selûnite, High Seeker Zulthind accepted the offer and revealed what she knew about Cobwheel and his small organization.

With the details given by the Gondar priestess and some information gathering in Dock Ward, the five adventurers discovered one of the favorite whereabouts of the Wonder Bringers and a favorite of Waterdeep's small citizens: a tavern named the Underdark. Unfortunately, the tavern was burned to the ground by criminals two months ago. Examining the ruins, one of them found a hidden safe filled with gold pieces given to the tavern's owner by Cobwheel himself. A small note attached to the gold pouch confirmed some rumours about the fact that the Wonder Bringers were actually stealing people to help their community. It seemed suddenly that this little "guild" was really doing some good in the neighborhood and protecting its small citizens from thugs like the Scarred Beasts, a racist street gang operating a protection racket and suspected by many to be the ones responsible for the destruction of The Underdark tavern.

Still held by their promise to find Cobwheel and the stolen weapons, the investigators managed to find the location of the new Underdark tavern that relocated into the Warrens, an almost forgotten ward of the city populated with gnomes, halflings and dwarves. Even though the famed Morigard Dalrak gave them the location of one of the secret entrance to the district and told them to announce themselves as his friends, the young adventurers were attacked by suspicious halfling guards but quickly calmed them and managed to enter the tight but empty tunnels. Something was wrong, the place was so silent and empty it looked like a ghost town. They soon confirmed their fear when they entered the tavern: all its occupants, from the gnome barkeeper to the customers were staring in front of them with emotionless eyes, as if their will had been sucked out of them.

Unable to help them at the moment, the group started to walk away of the tavern when the gnome barkeeper pulled throwing axes from his belt and threw them in their direction. One of them heard a small voice near the bar when the gnome attacked and a spell cast by Petyr revealed a small insect-like invisible creature flying around in the room. Even though the gnome and his bouncer were experienced fighters, the force of numbers and good tactics managed to bring victory to the group who brought back the bound fey-like creature with them out of the tavern. As they were walking out of the tunnels, they met with clerics of Garl Glittergold and Yondalla who invited them in their shrine to explain them what exactly was happening in the district.